Shloka 25

राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता

Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement

Devanagari script

आश्रमस्थानि भूतानि यस्तु वेश्मनि भारत । आददीतेह भोज्येन तद्‌ गार्हस्थ्यं युधिष्ठिर,भरतनन्दन युधिष्ठिर![ जो किसी भी आश्रममें रहनेवाले प्राणियोंको अपने घरमें ठहराकर उनका भोजन आदिसे सत्कार करता है, उस राजाके लिये वही गार्हस्थ्य-धर्मका पालन है

Transliteration

āśramasthāni bhūtāni yastu veśmani bhārata | ādadīteha bhojyena tad gārhasthyaṁ yudhiṣṭhira ||

Translation

ภีษมะกล่าวว่า “โอ ภารตะ โอ ยุธิษฐิระ ผู้ใดต้อนรับผู้ดำรงอยู่ในอาศรมต่าง ๆ ให้พักในเรือนของตน และให้เกียรติด้วยอาหารและการต้อนรับ นั่นแล โอ ยุธิษฐิระ คือการปฏิบัติธรรมคฤหัสถ์โดยแท้”

Word by Word

आश्रमस्थानिthose situated in (various) āśramas

भूतानिbeings, creatures

यःwho

तुbut/indeed

वेश्मनिin (his) house

भारतO Bhārata

आददीतेreceives, takes in (as a guest)

इहhere

भोज्येनwith food (to be eaten)

तत्that

गार्हस्थ्यम्the householder-state/duty

युधिष्ठिरO Yudhiṣṭhira

भरतनन्दनO delight of the Bharatas

युधिष्ठिरO Yudhiṣṭhira

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Yudhiṣṭhira

Bhārata (epithet of Yudhiṣṭhira)

āśramas (four life-stages/orders)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The essence of gārhasthya-dharma is active hospitality: a householder fulfills dharma by welcoming and feeding those who live by the disciplines of the āśramas (students, forest-dwellers, renunciants, and householders), treating them with respectful care.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and defines the practical mark of a righteous householder: receiving people into one’s home and honoring them with food and hospitality.